Chandigarh, May 25 : Haryana on Saturday recorded a voter turnout of 31 per cent till 1 pm as polling is underway for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

In the first four hours, the turnout was 22.09 per cent despite a blistering heatwave. Women outnumbered men in most of the polling stations.

'There has been no report of any delay in starting the poll process,' an electoral officer told IANS.

Notable candidates for the Lok Sabha elections include Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal, and Congress heavyweights Deepender Singh Hooda and Kumari Selja.

While most seats are witnessing a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, some constituencies like Hisar are experiencing a multi-cornered battle.

The Congress has pitted actor Raj Babbar against BJP's Rao Inderjit Singh from Gurugram.

Besides the Lok Sabha polls, there is a by-poll for the Karnal Assembly seat, the seat vacated by Khattar, where Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the outgoing Lok Sabha MP from Kurukshetra, is among the nine candidates in the fray. Saini had replaced Khattar as the Chief Minister in March.

Chief Minister Saini and his predecessor Khattar were among the early voters who cast their votes at their respective polling stations.

While Saini cast his vote in his hometown Naraingarh in Ambala district along with his wife after paying obeisance at a Sikh shrine, Khattar exercised his franchise in the Karnal city.

Leader of Opposition and two-time chief minister Bhupinder Hooda told the media after casting his vote in Rohtak, 'Voting is happening peacefully and trends are in favour of the Congress.'

He appealed to people to exercise their right to vote and vote in large numbers.

BJP leader and richest Indian woman with a $33 billion net worth, Savitri Jindal, whose youngest son Naveen Jindal is also in the fray, cast her vote in her hometown Hisar.

After casting the vote, Savitri told the media that the country has developed at a fast pace under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Seemingly confident about the BJP's prospects in the general elections, she added, 'Prime Minister Modi will be elected for a third consecutive term.'

/IANS